Let There Be Light

Understanding the cultural clash between the Greeks and the Jews.

During the holiday of Chanukah, Jews relive their military and ideological victory over their Hellenistic adversaries. We still hear the echoes of this cultural clash today, as Winston Churchill wrote in his History of the Second World War, "No other two races [but the Jews and Greeks] have set such a mark upon the world. Each of them from angles so different have left us with the inheritance of its genius and wisdom...the main guiding light in modern faith and culture."

Classic Jewish texts refer to the period during which the Hellenists held influence over Israel as the "Greek Exile." Perplexingly, however, throughout that period the Jews lived in Israel, and there was no attempt to drive them from their homeland. This begs the question: Who—or what—had been exiled?

The Sages answer with an allegorical comparison of existence under the Hellenists to the darkness at the beginning of creation. The first two lines of Genesis read, "In the beginning...the earth was empty...and darkness was upon the face of the deep." The command "Let there be light" then banished the darkness. Since the luminous heavenly bodies were not created until much later, this first "light" refers a primordial light of God—the essence of spirituality. The sages thus perceived the Hellenistic world as an imposing darkness devoid of spirituality, yet readily remedied by it.

Remarkably, despite our traditional sources comparing Greek culture to spiritual darkness, they simultaneously affirm that ancient Greece was the most beautiful and cultured of all civilizations. Indeed, it was in Hellenism that for the first time Jews found an intellectually stimulating alternative to Judaism. In those days—as in ours—the glamour of Greece, her arts and comforts, enticed many Jews to complete assimilation.

The Hellenistic worldview glorified the human being as the pinnacle of creation – both his mind and his body.

The Hellenistic worldview glorified the human being as the pinnacle of creation – both his mind and his body. Since the time of Aristotle, to most philosophers, the world runs by natural laws, entirely accessible to human intellect and observation. Phenomena which people hope to rationalize are pursued, and those that lie beyond the confines of pure reason or direct observation are spurned as folly. We find modern expression of this approach in the current widespread assumption that there exists no reality beyond the physical world. Such a view relegates elevated notions such as love, free will, and the soul to the realm of self-deluding biochemistry.

Consistent with this view, "relative morality" rules the day, denying the existence of any absolute right or wrong. Existentialism, the philosophy of life's absurd futility and inherent meaninglessness, also readily follows from this point of view. These disheartening conclusions, held by so many today, emerge from the perspective of the world as a circus of atomic nuts and bolts lacking any overall purpose or deliberate design, and organized only by patterns we humans project upon it.

Yet many thinking people consider ridiculous the view that life is utterly meaningless and that there is nothing wrong with cold-blooded murder other than personal preference. Even Bertrand Russell, the twentieth century's most eloquent atheistic philosopher, conceded, "I cannot see how to refute the arguments for the subjectivity of ethical values, but I find myself incapable of believing all that is wrong with wanton cruelty is that I don't like it." Those who posses the humility to concede that the human mind's reasoning faculty has its limits are forced to reexamine this constricted view of reality.

At the time when Athens and Jerusalem locked horns, a faithful core of Jews maintained that the mechanical laws of nature are subordinate to a purposeful creator. They saw the glory that was Greece, not as a dimness of intellect, but as a bleak shackling of the human spirit. The brilliant spiritual intensity of humankind had been eclipsed by superficialities, only because these were more easily appreciated by human reason. This was the "darkness" of Greece.

What the Greeks had exiled was the spark of the human spirit. They embraced the body and mind, but neglected the soul. Traditional Jews, on the other hand, acknowledged the intellect as the soul's most powerful and reliable tool, and the body as its trusted servant—but nothing more. Those who remained faithful to their Jewish ideals were bold enough to accept a tradition that concurs with universal human intuition: that objective moral and spiritual realties exist, despite our inability to sense or rationalize them fully.

It is by no coincidence then, that the miraculous Jewish victory over the Hellenists culminated in the relatively modest miracle of the single cruse of oil burning for eight days. To Greek thinkers—and their modern-day secular heirs—the physical world may be wondrous, but that's the whole story. The oil burning for eight days symbolized that within the very stuff of which the physical world is made, rests a very real inner dimension waiting to light up our lives. The challenge of the Jew is to see address the inner dimension of the physical realm and enable its spiritual potential to shine forth.

To commemorate our victory over the darkness of Greece, we place a delicately flickering flame on our windowsills to shine into the wintry black of the year's longest nights. We partner with our Creator in fulfilling His command, “Let there be light!”, banishing the superficial darkness of this world by reminding ourselves and our neighbors that deep within every one of us glows a spiritual ember waiting to burst aflame and fill the world with Godly beauty that transcends what the eye can see. This is the message of Chanukah. This is the message of being a "light unto the nations." And this is the message of the Jewish people.

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About the Author

Rabbi Joel Padowitz, MBA CFA is a successful entrepreneur who has been involved adult Jewish education for nearly 20 years, specializing in the interface between traditional Judaism & modernity. Rabbi Padowitz is the founder and CEO of New York-based investment bank Palladium Capital Advisors, which is one of the top-25 most active placement agents in the USA. In 2009 he founded Jew IQ which develops mobile applications, content, and curricula for Jewish education and travel. He is also the author of Triumph and Tragedy: Journeying through 1000 Years of Jewish Life in Poland. Rabbi Padowitz gives regular classes in Talmud, Jewish thought, and Jewish law, and previously served as rabbi for Aish HaTorah’s young professional community in London. He is an award-winning speaker and writer whose articles have been published widely in mainstream Jewish media. Aside from rabbinic ordination, he received his MBA from Bar Ilan University where he finished first in his class, holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, and was honored at the White House by President George H.W. Bush for outstanding achievements in science.

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 9

(8)
ali begoun,
November 15, 2013 5:55 PM

very clear and helpful

I enjoyed this very much. Beautifully articulated and very inspiring. In the wake of the 2013 Pew study, it never ceases to amaze me that the lessons of our faith are indeed eternal in nature and simply never, ever lose relevance. We are such an amazing people and we have so much to be proud of.Thank you.

(7)
Do Lern Hwei,
January 17, 2012 12:52 PM

Best Gift From The Greeks

The best contribution of ancient Greek civilisation to modern society is Democracy, rule of the people or majority wins.Sounds better than rule by one person. However, Exodus 23:2 cautions: "Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd."

(6)
joel,
December 26, 2011 7:14 PM

partner with God?

Do we have equal weight with God? Don,'t think so. God will accomplish his will in this world without help from anyone. Have you read the book of Job ? The light of this world is the word of God inScripture...Also, you seem to indicate that just below the surface (stuff of which the world is made) lies a divine spark, and if we can just see it...etc. But if I may Sir, and correct me if I'm wrong , But isn't God distinct from his creation, that man is only dust infused with(nishmat chayim) the breath of life, and only in him do we have our being ?So isn't the message to the world from the Jew " TheLord God of Israel is the God of all the earth" and there is no other? The glory of Jacob is the Almighty. Jacob (Israel) has No glory in himself, nor does any individual. So, the point I'd like to make is that there's no goodness or righteousness in the heart of men, IKnow this because God said " the heart is deceitful above all things and incurable "
(Jer.17:9) and also " our righteousness are as filthy rags" (Is.64:6) A lesson Job learned well.

(5)
Kathleen,
December 26, 2011 5:11 AM

A sad presence for the Greeks.

Wasn't it the Greeks who forced 72 Jewish scholars to Alexandria, Egypt a few centuries before the common era to translate the Torah into Greek, producing 72 identical copies which is how the rest of the world came to know G-d?
The financial situation the Greeks find themselves in today has devastated them. I read that some Greeks forsake Christianity to go back and worship the Greek gods of old.

(4)
Evalene,
December 25, 2011 10:49 PM

Greek Jewish children's song

Does anyone know about Jewish children singing on way to school at Night, because of limitations of pogroms? I have lyrics
learned as a child, want to know if Hebraic connections?
thanks

(3)
Abraham L. Seiman,
December 25, 2011 7:48 PM

All civilized people must remember that Jews and Greeks created a great deal of the culture that the world has benefited from.

Too many unlearned people do not understand why the Jewish culture survived and why they are considered the " chosen People". They are chosen to preserve the concepts of morality and ethics throughout time without which the world would, and always will be in CHAOS'.

(2)
Marilyn Estreicher,
December 25, 2011 4:47 PM

putting Channuka into a Historical perspective

I really learend a lot from this. Lets hear more from this writer :)

(1)
Chris Cahill,
December 25, 2011 2:53 PM

"raised" not begged"

I hope it helps readers to point out a a common error of expression present in this piece. At the end of par. 2, the author wrote "begs the question" -- which properly refers to a particular logical fallacy --when he meant only "raises the question." Almost everyone gets this wrong, but that does not make it right. Wiki and others discuss the matter in detail. My rule: when I feel like saying "begs," I try "raises" instead.

Joel Padowitz,
December 25, 2011 9:30 PM

"Begs the Question"

Dear Chris,
Thank you for pointing that out, though I hope that isn't the key issue you took from the article!
I happen to be aware of the so-called "proper" use of the idiom to "beg the question." However, I believe that in general the prevailing usage of its speakers should be the chief determinant of acceptability in language. The only way to refute such a position would be to imagine that language somehow preceded its users, which is certainly not true in this case. Since as you admit "almost everyone gets this wrong" I would argue that, ipso facto, does make it right--at least when it comes to questions of proper usage.
PS: I am also well aware of conservative lexicographers the likes of William F. Buckley Jr. who are firmly opposed to such a liberal approach to usage, but given this is not an academic forum I thought my approach reasonable.